SORO Checkout Problems

A student organization at the University of Oklahoma is experiencing checkout problems with their equipment.

The Student Organization Resource Office allows registered student organizations and students at OU to use their equipment for upcoming events or personal use, but several organizations and students are not turning the equipment in on time.

            “We usually have equipment reserved the next day, and we have to have it back by noon that day, so that we can check it out to the next person,” SORO office worker Rachel Garrison said.

           

There is not a sufficient amount of equipment available in the SORO office, so late equipment can hurt organizations who need it.

 “Sometimes organizations need the laptops, so when we don’t have them it creates problems for people’s events,” Garrison said.

           

            SORO fines organizations and students that are late turning in equipment, but late equipment fine does not affect a student’s ability to enroll, and this makes it hard for SORO to receive their equipment and fines on time.

“It makes it kind of hard sometimes to keep people accountable for their fines,” Garrison said. “Some people just choose to never check out from SORO again.”

Organizations and students that do not promptly pay their fines are put on the “Do Not Check Out” list, or organizations that are consistently turning in late equipment can make the list because of the SORO 3 Strike Policy, according to Garrison.

The list is posted on the wall of SORO’s office. Every employee is aware of students or organizations that cannot checkout equipment.

SORO is working on getting holds on student’s account. The organization hopes that this will decrease the amount of late equipment they receive, and fines will be paid in a timely manner.

Organizations cannot use SORO’s equipment until the fine is paid.

Organizations are required to fill out a liability form before checkout, and all equipment must be returned by 11 a.m. on the day after equipment was checked out.

Organizations will be charged for the full amount of equipment if the equipment is five days late, and reservation privileges will be suspended for the remainder of the semester, according to the SORO website.

SORO provides a wide variety of equipment ranging from projectors, projector screens, laptops, sound equipment, microphones, and adaptors for computers.

SORO was established 2004, and is funded by the University of Oklahoma. SORO has dedicated their organization to the AV needs of student and student organizations to rent their equipment for free, according to the SORO website

                       

International Prom

The International Prom was held on Friday in the Union Ballroom at the University of Oklahoma.

International students at OU got to experience an American prom for the first time.

“We’ve had a lot of internationals express interests that they never got to experience an American prom,” International Advisory Committee President Hillary Medina said.

“This is my first international prom, so I’m really excited,” international student Debaroti Ghosh said.

Students and IAC members danced all night to music native to different parts of the world, and enjoyed a variety of food that was provided by Union Catering.

“It’s so good to see people from all around the world here, you have the Bollywood music playing and Spanish music playing over here and all kinds of music,” Vice President of the India Student Association Subramaniyam Iyer said.

Joe Loveless and Hillary Medina, who is the IAC president, won prom king and queen.

Participants of the International Prom voted for prom king and queen. The DJ announced the winners towards the end of the night.

“I was out her at the booth asking people to vote for me and I’m glad they did,” Loveless said.

“I’m slightly surprised, Medina said. “I thought people would all vote for themselves.”

Everyone cleared the floor as Loveless and Medina shared a dance to “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston.

IAC sold 100 tickets. Participants came in prom attire along with friends or their dates.

“I’m just like so stoked to be here,” IAC Sub-C member said. “It’s just such an amazing thing.”

Dance lessons began at 8:00 p.m., and the prom kicked off at 8:30 p.m.

IAC held their first international prom two years ago, according to Medina.

This year IAC combined their annual winter ball with the international prom, making it one event that serves as a fundraiser and a fun cultural exchange.

The money generated from the International Prom goes towards IAC's Emergency Scholarship, which they award to students every spring, according to the IAC Facebook page.

Tickets were $5 at the IAC booth in the Student Union, and $7 at the door.

Most of the funding for the prom came from the IAC budget. IAC’s yearly budget comes from the Student Government Association.

The IAC is an executive student organization that represents international students, and coordinates the efforts of all international student organizations, according to the IAC website.

“I just love the cultural exchange that goes on,” Medina said.

“I’m having a blast right now, everyone is having a great time,” International Prom attendee Paul Schaettle said.

Diwali Nite '13

An international student organization celebrated Diwali Saturday night.

The India Student Association hosted their annual Diwali Nite at the University of Oklahoma’s Reynolds Performing Arts Center, and later celebrated with food.

“Diwali is a festival of lights,” President of the India Student Association Dhanya Dharma Rajan said. “We use fireworks to celebrate the festival and we use something call diya, which is a lamp.”

            Four hundred people rushed through the doors of the Reynolds Performing Arts Center to see the festival of lights live on stage.

There were nine performances that included acting, dancing, and singing. Awards, prizes, and scholarships were given away, also.

“I was like so excited because this was my first night dancing in Diwali Nite,” performer Amber Hubbard said.

All of the performers wore clothing, danced, and sang songs that are native to different parts of India.

“It’s my personal experience and I enjoyed it very much,” audience member Sadia Afrin said.

After the show, members of ISA, performers, and audience members went the Jim Thorpe Multicultural Center to eat and celebrate.

Gopuram Taste of India Catering Services provided different types of North India food.

 “It’s one of the best restaurants in Oklahoma City, Gopuram,” Vice President of ISA Subramaniyam Iyer said. “So far we always go to them, we know that they can do a good job.”

ISA gave away two scholarships during Diwali Nite to international student members of their organization who are actively engaged with ISA and keeping their grades up.

“We wanted to help and support students who came to the school and did not get assistantship or any sort of financial assistantship or funding from the school,” Rajan said.

 Dr. Rebecca Cruise, from the Department of International Area Studies, was the guest of honor. ISA wanted to honor her for all the things that she’s done for the university.

The audience was very engaged, cheering loudly as they watched each of the performances. There were trivia questions asked to audience members between each performance. Each question was related to facts about India. The winner would receive a prize.

            Towards the end of the show, there were two raffle drawings.  Audience members had a number on the back of their ticket. Two numbers were called, and the winners won a night at the Sooner Legend Hotel.

Ten thousand dollars went into funding Diwali Nite. The University of Oklahoma offered $4,000 as primary funding and the other $6,000 came from different companies and organizations, according to Rajan.

“Since three months we’ve been working on the sponsorship approaching companies, and we’ve been working on the dances since one month,” Rajan said.

            ISA promotes Indian culture and traditions throughout the University of Oklahoma. The ISA accomplishes this through activities and cultural events, according to the ISA website.

International Bazaar

An International Bazaar promoted cultural awareness at the University of Oklahoma on Friday.

International students gathered on OU’s South Oval to share their culture with others.

“It’s just a great event that really gets people aware of the international presence on OU,” International Advisory Committee President Hillary Medina said.

“All the native countries, they will be coming up with their goods, stuff like handicraft things or their core national cultural items made in their countries,” member of the Student Association of Bangladesh Sadia Afrin said.

There was face painting, cultural body art, and a performance by the Redliners.

Handmade and imported items were on sale from each organization. Many people brought cash and bought several of the items available.

There was jewelry, clothing, and miscellaneous things for sale.

Little passports were provided so that each person could get their passport stamped as they traveled to different booths.

Each booth was set up by different international student organizations, and members of each organizations spoke to people about their culture.

Some organizations were serving their national snacks, and explaining the value of it. The Iranian student association was serving Persian black tea, and the Vietnamese Student Association gave away candy from Vietnam.

The Redliner, the only co-ed acapella group at OU, performed two songs for people visiting the international Bazar.

The audience gathered around them and watched as they enjoyed the performance.

The International Bazaar is held annually during the fall semester at OU. It is the largest cultural event during the fall, according to the IAC website.

The IAC sponsors the event every year.

The International Advisory Committee is an executive student organization that represents international students, and coordinates the efforts of all international student organizations, according to the IAC website.

“We kind of try to help them with more of the fun things like demonstrating your culture going to other cultures,” Medina said.

IAC at the University of Oklahoma was established over 23 years ago with the primary purpose of uniting all of the international cultural associations on campus, according to the IAC website